County may become state model for planning

A Winter Park firm will begin a 75-day, $60,000 study in St. Johns County next week that will be used as a prototype for fiscal analysis throughout Florida.

But one county commissioner worries that the funding will taint the information.

Henry H. Fishkind, of Fishkind & Associates, told the County Commission on Tuesday that his computer model will give St. Johns County a valuable tool to analyze the cost and revenues associated with growth.

"It's like a big Excel workbook," Fishkind said.

"Government is the single biggest business in the county. We're hoping that we can help (the County Commission) run it more like a business."

All 67 counties of Florida must eventually follow the recently passed Growth Management Act, which mandates change in the way counties plan for growth.

Two particularly important requirements are that capital improvements must be financially feasible and the backlog of infrastructure needs be addressed.

"It also requires concurrency for schools for the first time," Fishkind said, saying he's used earlier Fiscal Impact Analysis programs in other counties, but those were pilots and did not have the upgrades of this version.

"There's no one path to Nirvana," he said. "But at least everyone will be using the same numbers. We can improve public discourse and information and come up with a much better result."

Assistant County Administrator for Growth Scott Clem said no county funds are going for this study, though some staff time is involved.

"It will be a value to us," he said.

Fishkind plans to tailor the model by plugging in the county's population, ad valorem tax rates, impact fees, and other financial data.

"The model does the calculation," Fishkind said. "Every county and city are different. Unfortunately, in Florida we have been unwilling to project out five years."

The Economic Development Council of the St. Augustine & St. Johns County's Chamber of Commerce asked its members for donation and paid for the study.